How truthful do you think this description of the "net generation" is? Do you think it is appropriate/fair for this generation to be described in this way? To what extent do you see the strategies suggested by Scott Carlson being implemented in your own college education? Do you think there are benefits to viewing education the way the net generation does? Are there disadvantages?
As an added challenge for this post, I want you each to try answering this prompt without breaking it down linearly. Act as though you are discussing this topic with your closest friend, and want to be sure that you get all of this information across. Rather than merely listing your responses, try to approach this prompt more organically.
Lastly - come to class ready to discuss this further. Bring THE COPY OF THE ARTICLE YOU'VE PRINTED OUT with highlighting so that you can use examples and evidence while defending a point about the article. See you all Monday.
It is fairly to completely accurate to describe the 'Net Generation' as such and how they portrayed them (us). It is virtually impossible to sit in a class and not notice at very least one person messaging or emailing on their phone. If you don't notice it, you are either doing it yourself or so focused on your work you are an exception to our generation. Technology has advanced to the point where almost any device can be used for multiple purposes, work or play, communication or music, and the ease of it is remarkable. People growing up with this can adapt it into their life and perceive it and the use of it as natural, all without ever noticing the effects it can have.
ReplyDeleteAttention spans are far, far shorter than those of our parents or grandparents, and materials are being selectively learned. I can say that I, and many others too, am a paragraph writer. I'll write a paragraph, think it is great, and then watch a video. Write another paragraph, play a bit of a game. Write another paragraph, text a bit with a friend. By the time I am done, it took hours longer than it should have and my paper is so spread out that it is hard to find a paragraph that even remotely links to the next one!
Rather than see this as a problem, people seem to want to cater to this or find a way to work around it. Almost every lecture class now uses a projector and slides, the professors who don't follow the slides exactly or include everything in them and offer the file to students being that as the 'boring' or 'hard' ones. Most, if not all, popular classes have online materials or homework (English, anyone?).
The only good things I can see coming out of this generation's view on education is that the definition of a job market in first world and booming countries is becoming ever specialized and new technologies can be easily learned by younger generations. Short attention span, expectations of instant gratification, unrealistic expectations, lack of diversity in education, the list of cons goes on. It would be better to just push yourself through it and come out better for it than to take the path of least resistance and hope to deal with the problems that arise from it.
So I just read this article about our generation and it pretty much defined us as multitasking technology addicted students who have no absolutely no attention span and not going to lie I kind of agree. I cannot imagine how difficult it would be to be a professor who has to change their traditional way of teaching to meet our needs, keeping up with the times can be a challenge. My attention span like most people my age is that of a fly. I mean in all honesty it sometimes feels impossible to get through a class without sending a text or checking Facebook, we have this constant need to be in touch with our peers and get the latest news. Maybe we are addicted to multitasking or being entertained? Listening to an adult for a consecutive period of time is almost painful so when it comes to lecture classes I barely attend especially if the slides are online. But the way I see it if you are still getting good grades and getting the work done then what is the point in listening to a professor blab for a hour and a half if you can effectively get the same information in another format. There are so many benefits from having the option to print slides off and information online it gives us the choice to be in control of the way we spend our time and puts us in charge of our education. Some professors are reluctant to change and keep up with the times because they feel our generation is lazy, but I disagree to some extent. What I feel our generation lacks is not motivation or work ethic but instead proper technology etiquette. I think it is awesome that we can check email download an app while learning but just because we can do it doesn’t necessarily mean we should. No matter the circumstance it is downright rude to be playing with your phone while someone is speaking to you, when having a one on one conversation with someone eye contact and undivided attention is important. So the way I see it we should embrace that knowledge is literally at our finger tips and applauded that we can receive so much information at once and at record breaking time but manners should not be forgotten. So if you prefer to watch the lectures online while face book chatting and can get the same results go right ahead and do it, but if online lectures are not available and attendance is required then maybe we should all have some courtesy for the teachers and not text right in front of their face.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was reading this article for my writing class, it was talking about how our generation is called the net generation, which is very true. We are so used to having technology at our finger tips 24 ours a day that we have no idea where we would be without it. Professors try to use technology to keep us going, but to me, I feel that those classes that just use powerpoint really do not keep my attention. It is not a very interesting or really easy to pay attention too. I find myself constantly checking my facebook and email, making lists of all the things I need to do that day, and dazing off finding anything in the world better to pay attention too. They call it multitasking, but I think I would call it boredom. Teachers try to be technologically advanced in their classes, but I find myself to learn better and pay attention more when we do things the old fashion way. If the slides are online, why go to class? It is basically a waste of time, an ultamadom the way I see it. We are paying to get an education, but they are just giving us ways of getting out of things. Ways around actually learning and going to class by using technology to accomodate us. Multitasking is something our generation does more then anything and I think that it is good and bad. It is good that we are getting stuff done, but bad that we find ways around more things then are probably good for us. Education in today's age lets us be lazy. His theories are correct, but not our fault.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading an article about the "Net Generation", the technology-addicted youth of today, I had to agree with much of what the article said. It is very difficult for me and many of my friends to sit through class and completely pay attention. It is very rare for me to, and I am not completely sure that I have ever, sit through an entire class without texting a friend. On days I have my laptop for note taking or some other purpose, I often tend to browse the web and pay less attention to the lecture that is taking place. The article also made the point that students want to personalize their education and use learning techniques that personally work for them. I find this especially true. For some of more difficult classes, I will find a topic that I don't understand and I use other methods to teach myself better. It is very easy to Google the topics and find other teaching and learning materials that often explain the topic or keep my attention better than a professor in a packed lecture hall, even when the professor tries to incorporate technology into the lecture. Many times PowerPoint presentations either move at different paces. Sometimes the presentations move so slowly that I find it hard to keep paying attention, or they move too quickly for me to take decent notes and then I get frustrated and end up not paying attention again. I have not decided whether the classes with some technology are better or worse than the classes without any technology. Although our generation is addicted to technology, I still think that the overall learning experience depends on the teacher. Some teachers will always be better than others at making class entertaining and attention-capturing.
ReplyDeleteI think that this article is very accurate as far as the description of the Millenial generation. Looking at this article from a "generation X" person, I grew up learning how to research my papers and homework with encyclopedias. The first time a computer was brought into one of my classrooms was about 3rd or 4th grade and it was a commadore computer that only had a couple of programs on it. There was no such thing as the internet, we couldn't just look up a question with a key word. We received our education listening to teachers and reading assignments from books, chalkboards, and overheads. There were no devices to cause distractions in the classrooms. I do see the advantages of technology as far as being able to get information quickly. But I feel that there are many disadvantages also. The net generation does have a shorter attention span than earlier generations. They seem to only want to learn what they have to to get by. This generation leans more on things such as spell check that they never really learn how to properly spell words. I have taken many statements from people of the net generation with numerous spelling and grammatical errors. I have also noticed that many have relied on digital clocks so much that they are unable to tell what time it is from an analog clock. Other distractions such as cell phones, texting, email, tweeting, etc. I feel takes away from learning in the classroom. When pagers (yes, I said pager!) and cell phones first became popular it was common practice to silent them if you were in a setting where there was a speaker or a teacher. Now it has to be reminded over and over again to silent your cell phone or not to text in class, and yet, there will still be a phone that goes off or a person that texts right in front of the teacher, right after he/she says not to. Not only is this a distraction to the person sending the text and the classroom as a whole, but this is also rude and disrespectful to the person who is trying their best to hand down knowledge to their students. I feel that although there are some benefits to technology, as a whole it does take away from higher education. Another thing that technology takes away from is social skills. Some people of the net generation are able to better communicate via email or text than to talk face to face to a person or people. My opinion does not reflect on everyone that belongs to the net generation, but I do feel that it is the majority.
ReplyDeleteI think that this article is fairly correct but they over exaggerate everything about us. It’s not that we have to learn using new technology, we just prefer to. It is much faster and we’re more used to using electronics. Personally I do prefer everything to happen faster. I expect web pages to instantly pop up and get upset when they don’t. But I’m only impatient with electronics, I could go sit on a frozen lake, fishing out of an eight inch hole for hours without catching a thing and still have a good time, but if my computer freezes for 30 seconds I freak out. I like things to be convenient, and electronics are. I mean, I can check my email, or facebook on my iPod where ever I am on campus. That’s convenient. We don’t need our electronics we just don’t want to live without them. And without them life would be a lot harder. It would be difficult to communicate to anyone. If you had a question about something about your class you’d have to wait until your next class to ask your professor when you could easily email him instead. And I like customizable things because I feel like I can be more individual. And there might be some disadvantages of viewing education the we the net generation does.
ReplyDeleteThis article's description of the current "net generation" is pretty accurate, although maybe slightly embellished in my eyes. The make it seem like none of us have an attention span of longer than 10 seconds, and our eyes are literally glued to our phones, no matter what the situation. Although this may seem true sometimes, I think that the majority of students know to pay attention and keep their phones away when the time is right. However, the net generation label is still pretty fair because times are definitely changing, and the internet and technology in general is most likely the main proponent in that.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Mr. Carlson's ideas, again I think that they make sense, but may be a little over-exaggerated. I don't think we need to call for a complete overhaul in classrooms and new teaching styles by professors to mend to our needs, but some tweaks here and there in the classroom to slowly convert to more technological and efficient ways surely couldn't hurt. It seems like we're doing this already though. I had never thought I would be writing on a blog for a class and here I am doing it right now. In addition, things like the clicker, and like Mr. Carlson mentioned - uploading notes on PowerPoint to website like the Vista BlackBoard, are examples of an already changing culture. Obviously the advantages to changes like these are that they are more catered to the students, and they prove to be more time-efficient. However, I worry that we may focus too much on HOW we get the material rather than actually learning the material, which is what it's all about in the first place. Sure, all the technology is great and it makes everything go along so smoothly, but if we don't actually learn anything, then it hasn't done any good, now has it?
I thought that this article was crap. I think that everyone will learn differently no matter when they were born or when they went to school. Just because I am in college now doesn’t mean that I am more interested in learning through computers and such. Personally, I think that this college uses too much technology and I don’t like it. It is too reliant on computers and such. I don’t want more technology in my school. I think that having a professor lecture and maybe have some notes on an over head projector is a perfect way for me to learn. I hate that I have to get on the internet every night to do my homework for all of my classes. I wish I would just be able to get my book and my notes and be good with my work. I hate using the internet I think it is too much of a distraction when you’re trying to study or do homework from other sites and it gets very time consuming. I deleted my facebook and myspace because it was taking up too much of my time.
ReplyDeleteViewing education the way the net generation does could help some people but not all. Every single person will learn a different way than their peers. Using techy things can get things done efficiently and give students the advantage of online classes and what not for them to learn on their own time but it is not necessarily better then going to class and hearing lectures. The disadvantages would be getting to stupid from relying on computers for everything. I’ve heard many times that our generation is going to go downhill from relying on technology too much and not on ourselves anymore. Most young people these days would be lost without their laptops, ipod, and cell phones.
I thought that this article was crap. I think that everyone will learn differently no matter when they were born or when they went to school. Just because I am in college now doesn’t mean that I am more interested in learning through computers and such. Personally, I think that this college uses too much technology and I don’t like it. It is too reliant on computers and such. I don’t want more technology in my school. I think that having a professor lecture and maybe have some notes on an over head projector is a perfect way for me to learn. I hate that I have to get on the internet every night to do my homework for all of my classes. I wish I would just be able to get my book and my notes and be good with my work. I hate using the internet I think it is too much of a distraction when you’re trying to study or do homework from other sites and it gets very time consuming. I deleted my facebook and myspace because it was taking up too much of my time.
Viewing education the way the net generation does could help some people but not all. Every single person will learn a different way than their peers. Using techy things can get things done efficiently and give students the advantage of online classes and what not for them to learn on their own time but it is not necessarily better then going to class and hearing lectures. The disadvantages would be getting to stupid from relying on computers for everything. I’ve heard many times that our generation is going to go downhill from relying on technology too much and not on ourselves anymore. Most young people these days would be lost without their laptops, ipod, and cell phones.
The net generation article hit the nail on the head when it comes to our generation. technology is taking over everything we do and it is a huge part of our day to day life. as far as the way of learning they claim we want i belive tis is very accurate. nobody wants to sit through boring lectures anymore, in fact more than half of the information would be retained. i always find myself zoning out or daydreaming when i should be paying attention to a lecture. our learning style has changed and ive noticed the way teachers are going about teaching is adapting to it. take our very own colege writing class for example. Mr. sabo has us posting to a blog and doing group work and class discussions and we even got a video on friday, but its not just mr. sabo. most of my teachers operate class this way and the university gives us our emails and has the teachers post assignments on vista, they even tried testing with hand held devices(which turned out to be a waste of money more than anything). i also find myself multitasking when im doing my work. i can be listening to itunes, watching the cavs, talking with my friends, and posting to a blog all at the same time and it doesnt affect my work at all or the quality of my work. so not only do i agree with scott carlson i think he has a great idea in the way things should be done and is absolutely right about us being completely different from our predicessors. i also really liked what stefannie miller had do say. she voiced our dilemma perfecty and justified this new way we learn and behave in the classroom. the times are changing and we should all act accordingly
ReplyDeleteWhile reading this article about being a “Net Generation” I believe that they are right. When you have a big lecture classroom the teachers don’t just come around to each individual and teach them. They have power points set up so that the students and see what they are talking about. To some this works and to other’s they think about anything and everything possible and this is called multitasking. When the thing their supposed to be paying attention to is so boring that they can’t they think about other things to keep them busy. The teachers sometimes use big words or say stuff I don’t understand so I just zone out and try to stay awake by thinking of other things. We couldn’t live without technology. Kids could not sit through a whole class without looking at their cell phone, it’s like it’s going to blow up if we don’t. Having a computer is another thing we couldn’t survive without but we depend upon it so much that there is something we couldn’t do on our own. If our computer crashes or freezes it’s a really big deal, we all freak out even though it only takes 5 minutes to restart it’s a big deal. Everyone these days has a facebook or a myspace that we use during our free time. Every second I get I am on facebook checking it. These are the things that we do during our spare time instead of reading a book.
ReplyDeleteI think the "net generation" is very accurate. I was on the bus last week going back to allerton and i looked around and thought wow everyone is on there phones right now. Then i turned to my friend and told him what i was thinking then i said isn't it weird how that's all anyone every does is text and how different it was 50 years ago without phones and how lively the bus probably was because people were probably actually communicating.
ReplyDeleteI do think there is a huge benefit because why try and make a kid learn what they don't want to learn. Were at the age where were smart enough and know whether were gonna like something or not. So why not give us the option. The downside would be that it would be less jobs for professors.